Need to build two systems

[BillH2]

I need to build two systems and I could use some advice on system boards and CPU's I want to stay with Intel if possible. (had a bad experience with Asus) Plan on using Core 2 Duo processors. Antec Sonta II cases.

System one is for a friend who needs a good basic business system, no games. Business apps, internet, music.

System two is for me, some games and video.

I could use recomendations on System Boards, CPU's and memory. There is simply so much available from Newegg that I can't see the forest for the trees.
Thanks
Bill

 

[epk]

don't know much about mbs, but for the cpus:

for your friend the best choice is the e6300.... if he's only using it for bussiness that's more than enough

for you it depends on how much is "some" games and video... if some means a couple of hours 3 or more times a week and the games are relatively new (like less than 2 years old the oldest one) then you should go for the e6600... it has a great price/perf ratio and it's very o'cable if that's your thing

as for memory, your friend should have standard ram -branded is preferred-... 1gb is enough, maybe 2 for vista (to be safe)
unless you're planning on o'cing, go for 2*1gb ddr2 533mhz branded value/standard (for memory hungry games and vista you may need 3)

 

[LeeJend]

Do 2 MB minimum memory on both systems (required for Vista and many newer games). Is it just me or have DDR2 prices dropped by about 40% in the last month? My next upgrade is looking more likely with these lower prices.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145590

Proc's epk mentioned are good choices. Definitely stay with Intel proc's right now. Better forward upgrade path. AMD is getting socket change happy.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115005
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115003
Put a real video card in your buddies system even though he won't game. On board video is sluggish even with "just business app's" and don't even think Vista without an acelerator card. 7600 GS or a 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130075
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102035

MB, might as well go genuine Intel, price is ok and there have been issues with some "other" recent chipsets. Warning - 0ld pci and IDE slots are gone so if there is any desire for legacy card or HD support you need to dig for appropriate MBs.
For buddy - note it hasonboard video, but at the price just disable it, or try it without a card and see if it's adequate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121048
For you:
We need more info. Any interest in SLI, if so then genuine intel is out? Want the system to have a long term growth capability like 1333 FSB, 1066 RAM, etc? Price goes up exponentially with some of these goodies. RAM shots up also.

 

[David_L6]

I need to build two systems and I could use some advice on system boards and CPU's I want to stay with Intel if possible. (had a bad experience with Asus) Plan on using Core 2 Duo processors. Antec Sonta II cases.

System one is for a friend who needs a good basic business system, no games. Business apps, internet, music.

System two is for me, some games and video.

I could use recomendations on System Boards, CPU's and memory. There is simply so much available from Newegg that I can't see the forest for the trees.
Thanks
Bill

Sounds like you are building a couple of computer very similar to a couple of mine. Take a look at this post: http://forum.osnn.net/showthread.php?p=785135#post785135

 

[BillH2]

Thanks everyone.
With all the system boards being offered, it's easy to make the wrong choice. My present system has AGP video and there aren't many games that will run on it. Has an Asus board that I have replaced once and had a big hassle with Asus's customer support. Not going to buy any Asus borads in the future.
Thanks Again
Bill